Ad-Less Social Network Ello Selling T-Shirts to Pay the Bills

Ello, the currently invite-only (I’m still waiting for mine) social network, has decided it needs to sell t-shirts to cover its costs.

The site has always insisted it will forever remain ad-free and this statement has puzzled more than a few people, producing the question of exactly how will Ello make money? The shirts are being made in partnership with artist community focused e-commerce site Threadless. Artists who submit t-shirt designs to Threadless are being encouraged to design shirts themed to Ello’s logo and brand. The Threadless store will cycle through limited edition designs each month, with a a group of standard black and white shirts being sold alongside those for $25 each.

It could be said that Ello can’t really survive on shirt sales alone, so it’ll be interesting to see what else they have up their sleeve to keep their “Public Benefit Corp” alive.